With 16 commits and seven early enrollees prior to national signing day, his program touts the No. 2-ranked collection of preps in the Big Ten, per 247Sports, which gives the bunch an overall ranking of No. 17.

Wolverines-in-waiting will quickly make their verbals official by signing their letters of intent. This slideshow will examine five takeaways from Team 135's new arrivals.

Michigan's miss on George Campbell, a 5-star wide receiver of the 2015 class, certainly didn't help matters. Nor did 5-star running back Damien Harris' decommitment.

Seeing two of Hoke's prime-time prospects separate themselves from Michigan just weeks prior to NSD was alarming, so much so that expecting something out of the ordinary to happen Wednesday is almost mandatory.

For now, Jabrill Peppers, the gem of 2014, seems to be a lock. Although he's firm with Hoke, Peppers could be a recruit to flip at the final moment. Sure, it's unlikely to happen—Peppers is all but Michigan's.

However, keep an eye out for late action.

And if not for Peppers, watch for Lawrence Marshall, a 4-star defensive end who once gave a verbal to Ohio State. He's most likely ironclad, but there is enough to consider him flip-worthy.

For starters, Marshall is a former high school teammate of Malik McDowell, Southfield's 5-star defensive end who's torn between Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State and Florida State.

Should McDowell go to Columbus, Marshall may decide to follow. In the past, former high school teammates/friends have done so.

This season's NSD has an uneasy feeling. In all likelihood, Hoke will get all of his players and enter spring ball with a smile on his face. But that'd be too easy.

Don't rule out some impossible-sounding McDowell-Marshall move. If anything crazy is to happen, it's safe to say that McDowell will somehow be involved. His parents don't want him in East Lansing, per Joe Rexrode of the Detroit Free Press, but Malik wants to attend Michigan State.

His recruitment has become a circus, and a ripple effect could easily touch Ann Arbor.

Again, there is a strong likelihood that Michigan signs each of its remaining nine commits. But NSD has proven that nothing is impossible, something that you've either read or heard several times within the past few days.

Sure, it was only a correction tweet, not a direct "listen to me now" aimed at ESPN. But the tweet could indicate Ferns' eye for detail. If he'll call out the mother ship for a mistake, best believe he'll do the same thing to an out-of-position player in practice.

Well, that's the idea.

All kidding aside, Ferns' leadership is his best asset. He helped lead the Team 135 movement on social media and is known for being stable and trustworthy.

Michigan May Have New QB

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Look, Devin Gardner has the starting job until someone takes it from him.

However, that could be sooner rather than later.

Shane Morris played well enough during Team 134's 31-14 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl loss to K-State to deserve consideration come spring. An early enrollee, 2014 arrival Wilton Speight could also join the party.

Hoke's said the following about the position battle, per Angelique S. Chengelis of the Detroit News.

I think that’s an unknown [Gardner's role, per Chengelis]. Again, we were 7-6. And we’ve got a lot of young guys. We’ve got a lot of competition. Now, does Devin have the most experience? Yes, there’s no question.

I thought he [Morris, per Chengelis] did a really good job of being composed. I thought he did a great job on his preparation. He represented himself well in that game. He probably surprised some people how athletic he is. When he took the run down the field, it surprised me even a little bit he did such a good job with it.

Speight has the size—he's 6'6" and 220 pounds, ideal for a pro-style offense that's now run by coordinator Doug Nussmeier, who has a proven track record of developing quarterbacks.

The Wolverines' dismal 2013 season should have been enough to reconsider a few things, namely who lines up behind center. Gardner has the experience, and he's a great athlete—don't discount his importance to the team. However, Morris and Speight are the future.

Perhaps a little Richmond Collegiate magic will benefit Speight. Russell Wilson, a former Collegiate star, just led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory. That loose connection interests everyone, including guys who'll be competing directly with Speight.

Of course, Morris could have been poking fun at Speight. In jest or not, Morris has to know that he'll be challenged this season—and that's exactly what the offense needs. There has been zero depth at quarterback since Chad Henne's departure in 2007.

This year, Hoke's No. 17-ranked class would do itself a favor by rapidly maturing from Day 1, which is nearly impossible but not out of the question.

For the class to do that, Hoke must adjust his approach—that's all there is to it. His past philosophies haven't worked, so turning a new leaf with Team 135's younger members would be a welcome change.